International Union of Speleology PSEUDOKARST COMMISSION NEWSLETTER Nachrichtenbrief No./Nr.: 26. March, 2016 Editor / Redakteur: Jan Urban Associates / Mitarbeiter: Rudolf Pavuza, Christa Pfarr Mail-address / Postadresse: Institute of Nature Conservation PAS, Al. A. Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland Homepage address: http://www.pseudokarst.de.vu/ Kraków – Wien FRONT COVER : Albarellos cave system, Galicia, Spain. Smoothed, undulated surfaces and complex forms developed by coalescence of erosional concavities in different levels. Big Canyon with a streamflow level of 35% (explanation of percentage - see ‘The boulder granite cave system of Albarellos …’, Fig. 2). Picture was taken from the perched paleolevel called The Bridge (Photo M. Vaqueiro, 2015). VORDERE UMSCHLAGSEITE: Albarellos Höhlensystem, Galicien, Spanien. Runde, wellige Oberflächenformen sowie komplexe Formen, die sich durch das Zusammenwachsen konkaver Formen in verschiedenen Niveaus bildeten. Der „Große Canyon“ bei einem Wasserpegel von 35 % (Erläuterung dazu siehe ’Das Granit-Blockhöhlensystem Albarellos …’, Abb. 2). Das Foto wurde von einem hängenden Paläo-Niveau, genannt Die Brücke aufgenommen. BACK COVER : lower photograph – group visiting the Velka Ondrášova Cave at the end of this route, which is suggested by the state of coveralls and humour of the participants (Photo J. Urban); upper photograph – participants of the 13 th Symposium in Kun čice, 2015 (Photo J. Urban). HINTERE UMSCHLAGSEITE : unten: Gruppe nach der Befahrung der Velka Ondrášova-Höhle, was man am Zustand der Overalls und am Humor der Teilnehmer erkennen kann; oben: Teilnehmer am 13. Symposium in Kun čice, 2015. Correspondence addresses / Kontaktadresse: Jan Urban , Institute of Nature Conservation PAS, al. A Mickiewicza 33, 31-120, Kraków, Poland; e-mail: [email protected] Rudolf Pavuza , Karst & Caves Research Unit, Museum of Natural History, Vienna, Museumsplatz 1/10, 1070 Vienna, e-mail: [email protected] Contents: page Inhalt: Seite PAPERS / BEITRÄGE. G. Szentes Sea Caves of the Tongaporutu Coast, New Zealand, North Island ……...………………………………….………….……..…..... 1 Brandungshöhlen an der Tongaporutu-Küste, Neuseeland, Nordinsel ………………………………………………..….................. 5 M. Vaqueiro Rodríguez , R. Costa-Suarez, J.R. Vidal Roman The boulder granite cave system of Albarellos, Avion-Ourense (Galicia, Spain) ................................... 8 Das Granit-Blockhöhlensystem Albarellos, Avion-Ourense (Galicien, Spanien) ............................................................................... 13 I.A. Agapov, I.U. Khlebalin, Y.S. Lyakhnitsky Caves of the Sokanlinna granite massif, Vyborg District (Leningrad Region, Russia) ................................................... 15 Höhlen im Granitmassiv Sokanlinna Bezirk Vyborg (Region Leningrad, Russland) .....................................................................…. 20 L. Gaál Visiting tree mould caves in C ălimani and Gurghiu mountains (Romania) ....…………………………………………………..…..…. 23 Besuch von ’Tree-Mould-Höhlen’ im C ălimani- und Gurghiu – Gebirge (Rumänien) ......................................................... 25 EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REPORTS / VERANSTAL- TUNGSHINWEISE UND KURZBERICHTE J. Urban, R. Pavuza 13 th International Symposium on Pseudokarst, 16.-19.09.2015, Kun čice pod Ond řejnikem, Czech Republic ................................... 27 13. Internationales Symposium über Pseudokarst, 16.-19.09.2015, Kun čice pod Ond řejnikem, Tschechische Republik ....................... 32 REVIEWS, OBITUARIES, OTHERS / BUCHBESPRECHUNGEN, NACHRUFE, VESCHIEDENES C. Pfarr Review: A. Kejonen et al. 2015. Suomen Luolat …….................... 35 Buchbesprechung ……………………………………….…............. 36 Short messages ................................................................................... 37 Kurze Mitteilungen …………………………………….................... 37 In Memoriam: G. Dénes (1923-2015) …..……………....….....….... 39 In Memoriam: C. A. Self (1951-2016) …..…………………..…...... 40 Editorial note ..................................................................................... 41 Redaktionelle Anmerkung ............................................................... 41 SEA CAVES OF THE TONGAPORUTU COAST, NEW ZEALAND, NORTH ISLAND George Szentes 1 1UIS Pseudokarst Commission, New Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand; e-mail: [email protected] Although the biggest sea caves of the world are listed in New Zealand also the less extensive sea caves have been explored and surveyed. Many smaller, but very interesting tectonic and abrasion sea caves can be found all over the coasts of the two islands. Peter Crossley and the author – members of the New Zealand Speleological Society (NZSS) – have investigated and surveyed the sea caves of the Tongaporutu coastal section (Crossley, Szentes 2015). The caves are well known by many tourists visiting the spectacular coast, but cave survey and study have been carried out for the first time. The 30 km long Tongaporutu coast extends in the Taranaki District in the western part of the North Island between Mokau and New Plymouth (north of the famous Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont) (Fig. 1). Fig. 1. Location of the caves and rock formations at the Tongaporutu Coast Abb. 1. Lage der Höhlen und Felsformationen an der Tongaporutu- Küste The steep coastal cliffs are composed of Tertiary, massive, up to 5 m thick-bedded argillaceous, non-volcanic sandstone often with cross beddings. The other lithofacies are the sequences of interbeddings of thin, sandy, volcanic layers, siltstone, and calcareous mudstone layers (Thornton 1985). The faulted sandstone formation gives way to the coastal erosion, which in some places reaches 2 m per year. The erosion has resulted in an almost continuously cliffed coastline. Cliff heights range 15-30 m. The sediment- tary rocks in cliffs in the so called ‘papa’ areas of north and south Taranaki are relatively young in geological terms, therefore they are soft, unconsolidated and easily eroded. Cliffs with waves lapping at the base at high tide are vulnerable to episodic erosion events with the steep faces catastrophically falling down. Contributing to this process is groundwater seepage through the cliffs which intensifies after heavy rain. When the top layers are saturated, they are extremely sensitive to collapse. The fallen cliff material is dumped at the back of the beach, forming temporary relief from further cliff erosion, until being eventually destroyed or redistributed by wave action. Sand beaches occur at the base of these cliffs and reefs are rare. The cliffs of the coast are dissected by a number of rivers. As witness of the erosion from the cliffs collapsed blocks and in the sea two (formerly three but the sea has been claiming them and destroyed one of them) 25 m high rock formations have been known as the Three Sisters. Next to the Three Sisters is another formation called Elephant rock (Fig. 2) which, as you would expect, resembles an elephant. 1 Fig. 2. The Three Sisters (one of them collapsed) and the Elephant (Photo G. Szentes) Abb. 2. ‘Three Sisters’ (ein Pfeiler ist eingestürzt) und der ‘Elephant’ The tectonic and geological setup of the region is suitable for sea cave development and a large number of mainly short caves can be found there. Due to the fast cliff erosion the caves have quickly collapsed. The relics of the former caves are the impressive arches occurring all around the coast. The coast can be divided into sections (Fig. 1) where the caves have been listed mainly by numbers and in some cases also by names. The northern section is near the settlement of Mokau. The Waterfall Cave (no. 668) is located within the town’s environs and, being the easiest accessible of the caves, is advertised by the locals. It can be visited at extreme low tide. Follow the marked track across the grass to a short set of steps leading to a secluded beach. The spacious cave is just around the corner from the waterfall. The cave is 23 m long and 11 m wide at the entrance (Fig. 3). The Mokau Rock Art Cave (no. 695) (Fig. 4) is the only one surviving rock art cave in the Tongaporutu area. It is small, but has a few 5 and 6 toed feet and a flounder in good condition. Unlike the one that has collapsed at the Three Sisters this is safe from the sea, but should be protected from vandals. The other set of drawings at the Tongaporutu also featured feet, similar to what would be seen on the beach after walking on it. Fig. 3. Waterfall Cave at Mokau Village (Photo Fig. 4. Carved foot prints in the Mokau Rock Art G. Szentes) Cave (Photo G. Szentes) Abb. 3. ’Waterfall Cave’ in der Ortschaft Mokau Abb. 4. Eingeritzte Fußabdrücke in der ’Mokau Rock Art Cave’ The cliffs on the south side of the Mokau estuary are clearly visible from the town and Northern Beach. There are some obvious and inviting caves to be seen. Like most sea caves, one has to wait until at least half tide before one can get to them. Unfortunately, they are rather disappointing, as most of the dark caves marked by shadows visible from the other side of the estuary, turn out to be few meters long, narrow crevices or short caves (caves no. 696 –700). Only the cave no. 700 is 15 m long (Fig. 5). 2 Fig. 5. Cave no. 700 on the south side of the Mokau estuary (Photo G. Szentes) Abb. 5. Höhle Nr. 700 an der Südseite der Mokau-Mündung In the Kauwau Pa area at the Kuwhatahi Stream mouth just a small through cave, no. 669 has been listed. However, the section is a promising area to explore more caves, but during the survey time